


Cure for the Common Cold

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Set in Storybrooke, Canon Divergent [16]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hood-Mills Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 18:39:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15370866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: When Regina gets sick over mid-winter break, Robin and the boys take care of her.





	Cure for the Common Cold

He’s jarred awake at the sound of the medicine cabinet slamming shut and the ragged cough he’s come accustom to over the past few days. His eyes flutter, adjusting to the sunlight that fills the room and as Regina plops back down onto the bed, giving a long and audible sigh as she sniffles, signaling her displeasure.

Robin rolls over and asks groggily, “Still not feeling well, love?” He asks, though the answer to his question is obvious by her demeanor.

She glares at him, groaning as she swipes a Kleenex over her nose. “I’ve conquered entire kingdoms, literally bringing kings to their knees. I cast the dark curse—which wasn’t something just anyone could do—not once but twice, and I created Storybrooke from literally nothing. I’m one of the more powerful sorceresses to have ever lived. ” Her voice drops an octave and her eyes meet his, her brow furrowing as she pouts. “But I can’t manage to cure…the sniffles.”

She’s frustrated, and the bite in her nasal voice is understandable. The boys have a week off from school and she’s been planning mid-winter break excursions for weeks now—things they would do together as a family. And though she’s insisted that Robin and the boys still enjoy the week, she’s missing out—missing them.According to Henry, she’s never been an easy patient and though she rarely gets sick, when she does, she’s a force to be reckoned with—and she has been. It’s not in her personality to just sit by idly and watch as everyone else goes about their lives, and he wonders if it reminds her of a time when all she was able to do was sit idly and watch as the world went on around her.

“Should I call Dr. Whale…again?”

“No, that’s a waste of time,” Regina replies sharply, rolling her eyes as she stares up at the ceiling. “He’ll just tell me the cold has to run its course.” She gives a long, labored sigh that’s interrupted by a cough, which only adds to the sourness of her mood.“Clearly, I should have considered the implications of allowing one to gain their medical credentials from a curse.” Again, she looks at him, adding petulantly, “He’s useless.”

With a soft sigh, he leans in and kisses the top of her head before lifting himself over her to reach for a vile that sits on the nightstand at her side of the bed, then he settles himself on the bed beside her. She watches as he pours the mixture of lemon and thieves oil into his palm and with a soft smile, he takes her hand, pressing his fingers into her skin, rubbing the joints before kissing her palm, “Roll over onto your stomach,” he murmurs, smiling when she nods and does. He sweeps her hair aside and slips his hands beneath the thin, silky fabric of her pajamas, working his hands over her shoulders and upper back, every now and then, he lips in a drops a light kiss at the nape of her neck. He can feel her relaxing, the tension subsiding.

“That feels nice,” she murmurs as his fingers continue to work their magic. “Don’t stop, okay?”

“I won’t,” he assures her—and he doesn’t not until she’s long been asleep. It’s not until he hears footsteps on the stairs that he gets out of bed, realizing that the boys are awake.

He finds them both in the kitchen, Roland still in his pajamas as Henry prepares two bowls of cereal.

“Is mom still sick?” Henry asks, looking up as he enters the room, nodding his response.

“She’s been sick all week,” Roland says with an empathetic frown. “It’s not fair. I don’t even want to go ice skating now. It won’t be the same without her.”

Henry and Robin exchange looks. “I’m glad you brought that up,” Robin begins, as he joins and Henry join Roland at the table. “Being sick is hard enough, but I think she’s feeling worse because she’s missing the two of you. So, I was thinking that instead of ice skating this afternoon, maybe we could…spend the day in. Have a family day at home.”

“We could rent movies, make some soup,” Henry suggests. “When I was little, whenever I got sick she’d make this special soup that always made me feel better.” He grins, “She used to tell me it worked because it was magic.”

Grinning, Robin nods; but before he can speak, Roland cuts in. “I think we should eat popsicles, too. Popsicles always make me feel better.”

“Popsicles are a must,” Robin tells him with a wink. “So, it’s a plan, then?” He asks, looking between the boys.

“Definitely,” Henry confirms with a grin, as he gets up to grab a wooden recipe box from the cabinet.

The task of locating the recipe is an easy one. They find it quickly in Regina’s recipe box, a post-it indicating that its Henry’s favorite when he’s sick.

Robin and Henry spend the rest of the late morning working on the soup recipe, complete with homemade crackers also from Regina’s recipe box. All the while Roland picks a few movies to stream and makes a ‘Get Well Soon’ card. When it’s finally ready, Robin cleans up while Henry sets up the family room. They laugh as they decide Roland to send Roland to wake her—he’s the youngest and the cutest, therefore the least likely to annoy her.

Grabbing a popsicle, he runs off to wake her, glad to be included in something more than coloring.

The task of waking her is harder than anticipated, though; but when her eyes finally being to flutter open, Roland is sitting there at the foot of her bed with a grin and sticky fingers.

“You’re awake!” He declares as his grin deepens, and despite her annoyance at her inability to breathe properly though her nose, she smiles at the boy. “I had a popsicle for you, but…it started to melt.” He holds up his hands to reveal sticky red patches and a popsicle stick. “So, I had to eat it.”

In spite of herself, Regina laughs. “That’s okay, sweetheart.”

“It was the last red one, too,” he tells her. “But,” he begins with a lopside grin, “There are still purple ones, so you won’t get stuck with orange.”

Again, she laughs out and this time sits up, pushing away her cough. “Well, purple the color of royalty.” Roland smiles and Regina pats the empty space on the bed beside her. But Roland hesitates. “Umm…why don’t we go downstairs?”

She narrows her eyes, but grins. “Why?”

“Ummm…” he blinks. “Because…we kind of have a surprise for you. I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but…”

“You have a surprise for me?” She asks as her grin widens.

“And it’s downstairs.”

“Is this why you’re not ice skating right now?” She asks as she climbs out of the bed and Roland takes her by the hand, the pang of guilt in her voice goes undetected by the boy as he nods at her, smiling as he leads her.

When they arrive in the family room, Henry and Robin are there. The TV is on and a tray sits on the coffee tableholding a steaming bowl. Robin steps forward, taking her hand and leading her to couch and helping her settle.

“We made you soup, Mom,” Henry tells her with a smile. “It’s the…”

“…the one I used to make for you when you were sick,” she realizes, looking up at him. Tears brim in her eyes, but she shakes her head and bats the back of her hand over her eyes. “You remembered…”

“Of course I did.”

She smiles back, then looks from Roland to Robin, “You guys didn’t have to do this. You should be ice-skating right now.”

“We wanted to,” Henry insists, as he sits beside her, propping his feet up on the coffee table. “And, this seemed like a lot more fun, anyway. We’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you guys, too.” She sniffles, batting her hands at the back of her eyes. “I can’t cry. It’ll make my nose run and that will be unpleasant for all of us.”

Robin laughs and hands her a new box of Kleenex, “That’s what these are for.”

She takes the box, watching as Robin lifts Roland onto his lap. He drops the card onto her lap and she looks at it for a moment and again, tears being to well as she looks at a crayon-drawn family picture of the four of them, the five year old’s handwriting spelling out ‘Feel better soon. We love you.’

“Make sure you eat the soup,” Roland tells her. He grins, “It’ll make you feel better because it’s magic.”

They all laugh and Regain smiles as she looks the three men in her life, “It has to be,” she tells Roland with a wink. “Because I’m feeling better already.”


End file.
